Judge advances trade secrets theft case against ex-Apple engineer

Apple claims a former employee presented information to other engineers about the Apple Watch to gain employment at rival companies.SAN JOSE, Calif. (CN) — A federal judge refused to a toss a case against a former Apple Watch engineer Wednesday, ruling Apple’s breach of contract claims are enough to move the case forward.U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee found Apple plausibly claimed former employee Chen Shi “surreptitiously absconded with its trade secrets relating to the Apple Watch’s health-sensing technology to obtain lucrative employment with Apple’s competitors.”Apple’s breach of contract claim against Shi derives from a confidentiality and intellectual property agreement that he signed as part of employment with Apple. Apple claims Shi breached the contract by disclosing Apple’s proprietary information to co-defendants Guangdong-based Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. and InnoPeak Technology, Inc.“The second amended complaint includes detailed allegations concerning the nature of the confidential information that Dr. Shi allegedly obtained from Apple and disclosed to Oppo and InnoPeak,” the Joe Biden appointee wrote in her six-page order. “Apple alleges that, ‘late at night just three days before leaving Apple, Dr. Shi downloaded 63 documents from a protected Box folder,’ which he transferred to a USB drive ‘one day before his departure.’”Attorneys representing Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Apple claims co-defendant Zijing Zeng, the head of Oppo’s health division, recruited Shi for the purposes of presenting the the stolen secrets to a group of rival engineers in exchange for employment and “a generous salary.”Lee noted Apple also plausibly claimed it suffered damages from Shi’s breach of contract, after investing “hundreds of millions of dollars to improve upon the Apple Watch’s features and services.”Additionally, Lee found Apple identified at least one trade secret using specific language under the Defend Trade Secrets Act, in which Oppo, InnoPeak and Zeng tried to dismiss Apple’s claim for trade secret misappropriation.The specific trade secret technology includes, “hardware and software implementations of sensors and related technologies on Apple products, including temperature sensors,” and Apple Watch technology that can measure heart rate, blood oxygen levels and detect irregular heart rhythms.“Moreover, Apple identifies the specific files that contain some of its trade secrets, which Dr. Shi allegedly downloaded in anticipation of his departure from Apple,” Lee wrote.This past March, Lee heard Apple’s motion for a preliminary injunction requesting Oppo to identify and quarantine any employees that were exposed to Apple’s trade secrets, wipe any of Oppo’s developments that may have used Apple’s information, and audit Oppo’s data systems, including employee emails and documents, to ensure Cupertino-based Apple’s trade secrets are not further disclosed through Oppo. Lee has not yet ruled on Apple’s motion.Attorneys representing Shi, Zeng, Oppo and InnoPeak did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads